According to the tracking information, my package went out at 7:15 this morning for delivery.

I'm not expecting it until 7PM.

This is typically what happens with anything I get shipped via UPS. It leaves the facility bright and early and takes about 12 hours to get here. And, of course, I'm never home when they do arrive, so they leave a sticker, I call them later that night and go pick up my package at the facility the next day.

I tried to prevent this from happening this time by going to the website last night to try and just ask for them to not attempt to deliver the package to me at home so I could just drive out and pick it up today, but it seems that you can't make that request until after they've attempted a delivery.

Does anyone know if that's right, or if I am just missing a simple instruction. Anytime I get a package that I need to sign for I end up having to drive to UPS anyway, I'd rather be able to do it the day it arrives in town.

I've tried asking UPS to not deliver (so that I could just pick it up) and they have said that was fine, only to find when I arrived at he facility that my package was "on the truck" because somewhere between taking my phone call and assuring me it could be done, the message was lost amongst the delivery personnel.

Where I live now, a townhouse complex, if I am not home UPS and FedEx will deliver the package to the leasing office instead, which would be great except one or two drivers do that instead of knocking on my door (I am almost always home) which annoys me.

Would it be safe to leave the package on the door step or in the garage? If so could you try leaving a note (with a signature) asking UPS to leave the package even if you are gone? Or ask for delivery to a neighbor?

FedEx knocked on my door the other day asking me to accept a package for one of my neighbors who I have never even met, so I assume it can be done. I signed for the package then immediately put a note on their door telling them who I was and where there package was, they came over and picked it up when they got home.

I think that things like that might be easier than asking them to withhold delivery, just because they are so big and have so many different departments that it can get confusing to deal with whose packages go out and whose stay behind.

Being late on the route is my guess, too. My house is normally earlier on the local UPS driver's route, but when we have the "regular" driver who knows what our usual hours are and that we may not be home until 6 pm, she'll often come by late and drop off anything that needs to be signed for. Otherwise if we have someone else (or maybe if she isn't able to come around later), we get the "package needs to be signed for, you weren't here" slip.

They work a full day - someone has to be on the end of the route. I am as well. My packages get here after 6. Of course, the one day they wanted a signature, they came around 2 - and I was almost not here.